India, June 22 -- Automobile giant General Motors (GM) is facing growing backlash from labour unions after replacing more than 1,000 workers at its Detroit-area assembly plant with 50 robotic units, according to media reports.

The newly installed "collaborative robots," or cobots, have been deployed on the assembly line at GM's Factory Zero plant in Michigan as the company grapples with slowing demand for its electric vehicle (EV) models and seeks to reduce operating costs, the New York Post reported.

"It's always a concern when you see a robot coming to a plant, especially after they have laid off over a thousand people," he told Crain's Detroit Business. "They say it's the wave of the future, and if that's so, they're taking away jobs...